A collaboration between zoos, field scientists, and educators.
Small birds called Carmine bee-eaters can often be seen perching on the backs of foraging kori bustards. The bee-eaters eat insects stirred up by the koris as they move about. In return, the kori bustards may receive some form of predator protection - when the bee-eaters startle or fly away, it could be a signal that a predator is nearby.
Humans have also developed a relationship with kori bustards. These birds have been included in dances and songs of the Bushmen of Botswana. Drawings have been found in caves depicting the species. Although listed as "protected game" it is still hunted throughout its range. In Namibia, it is commonly referred to as the "Christmas turkey" and in South Africa it is called the "Kalahari Kentucky."
Photos by Jamie Ford
- The kori bustard feather is popular for fly fishing lures. Learn more
- If the species is to survive, they need assistance now in the form of habitat management, public education, increased captive breeding and further research into their behavior and ecology.
- Close relatives of the kori bustard are the Arabian bustard, Australian bustard, and Great Indian bustard.
In the News:
(Click on the title to go to the website)
*Hot off the Presses! 2009 Kori Newsletter, The Gompou
2008 Kori Newsletter
Electronic Eggs Used to Help Save Threatened African Bird (ScienceDaily 2007)
BirdLife Botswana bustard poaching probe (BirdLife Botswana 2005)
The Bustards: Puffing, Jumping, Running Toward Oblivion (Zoogoer 2002)
Total population size is unknown for both subspecies. Koris are listed on Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - website). The 2000 Eskom Red Data Book for Birds and the South African Red Data Book (1984) list the status of the southern species (A. k. kori) as Vulnerable. In Eastern Africa, protected areas such as National Parks offer good protection for the species. Viable populations can be found outside protected areas but birds continue to be hunted.
Threats
Habitat loss has led to a major decline in all bustard species. Reasons for the decline are numerous and include habitat destruction from agriculture and development, bush encroachment caused by overgrazing from livestock, illegal hunting, collisions with overhead power lines, and a general low tolerance of human activity. As human populations increase and loss of habitat continues, the kori bustard population can be expected to decline further.
Migration
In general, very little is known about the movements and migration patterns of either population. Kori bustards are not migratory in the true sense but preliminary studies, in Namibia's Etosha National Park, using conventional radio tags indicate that male juvenile kori bustards undertake extensive movements after breeding season. Juvenile females do not appear to undertake such movements.
Kori Bustards in Captivity
There are currently 150 kori bustards in captivity. The majority of kori bustards are held in the United States but there are also birds in Germany, Belgium, United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Italy. Kori bustards have been kept in zoos since the late 1930s. However, the first breeding did not occur until 1989 when Nurnberg Zoo in Germany became the first facility in the world to breed kori bustards. In 1992, Dallas Zoo became the first zoo to hatch a chick in the Western Hemisphere.
Learning More
The Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, DC is one of only seven facilities in the world that have successfully bred kori bustards. Despite these successes, little is known about kori bustards and their behavior. In 1999, the National Zoo began a behavioral watch on kori bustards in an effort to increase the basic understanding of the species in captivity. Click here for more details on the National Zoo's research.
Kori Bustard chick 2-24 hours old
